


The Manji God Awakened

by thisjokerswild



Category: Naruto
Genre: Family, Kabuki - Freeform, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-18 09:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2344043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisjokerswild/pseuds/thisjokerswild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about revenge, family, and kabuki. Summary sucks, story is better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Manji God Awakened  
AUTHOR’S NOTE:  
Let me first say that I do not nor will I ever own Naruto. Now that that’s out of the way, Hello!  
This story takes place within the Naruto universe but there will NOT be any interactions with any of the characters, only mentions and jutsu use. Only Constructive criticism please! I also apologize in advance, English isn’t my first language.

Prologue: Kyoto Province-Manji Clan Gravesite, Great Forest.  
A multitude of dead birch trees stand in silent reverie above a door nestled in the dark ground. Etched in the door was a manji, a counter-clockwise twisted cross used to symbolize peace and fortune. (Not a Nazi symbol. The Nazis perverted a peaceful symbol into one of hate and Intolerance.) It is most recognized by residents of Kyoto as the symbol of one of the most powerful and influential Samurai clans. Undefeated, unrivaled, and enigmatic, The Manji Clan operated as shinobi, becoming one with the shadows to attack their targets and then disappear with seldom a trace. Seldom a trace save for their calling card, a Manji painted in the blood of their enemies. Since their founding, they amassed numerous enemies from rival samurai and shinobi to even the deity like beast summons. One of the reasons the Manji were so powerful owed to their lineage to the Sage of Six Paths, the man who created the ninja world. They were the few who possessed three Blood line limits that manifested itself in all of their members. The first was the Samsara Eye or Rinnegan characterized by its ripple-like pattern, which spreads over the eyeballs, with light purple irises and sclera.  
 

One of the Rinnegan's trademark techniques is the Six Paths Techniques, which grants the user multiple abilities known as Paths. The Animal Path can summon several different creatures. The Naraka Path can summon the King of Hell, which can be used for interrogation and restoration. The Preta Path can absorb any chakra-based ninjutsu. The Asura Path can clad the user in mechanised armour and grant them various weapons. The Human Path can read minds, at the cost of ripping out the victim's soul. The Deva Path allows the manipulation of gravity-based forces to either repel or pull in an enemy. Finally the user is granted the Outer Path, also known as the seventh Path. It grants the user control over life and death. The Outer Path also grants a shared field of vision between its user and their summoned creatures and Six Paths of Pain, which gave multiple angles of vision and neutralized any blind spots. At this point, all of their eyes would also sport the Rinnegan.

The second was the Copy Wheel Eye or as it was more commonly known, the Sharingan Eye. The Sharingan's abilities consist of two parts: the "Eye of Insight" and the "Eye of Hypnotism". The first of the Sharingan's powers is being able to see chakra flow. The Sharingan itself gives colour to chakra, allowing the wielder to differentiate them. They are also able to tell if a person is under a genjutsu because the person's chakra flow would be irregular. The Sharingan's second-most prominent ability grants the user an incredible clarity of perception, allowing them to easily recognize genjutsu and different forms of chakra. This also allows the user to pick up on subtle details, enabling them to read lip movements or mimic something like pencil movements. As the Sharingan evolves, gaining more tomoe, this ability extends to being able to track fast-moving objects before finally giving some amount of predictive capabilities to the user, allowing them to see the image of an attacker's next move from the slightest muscle tension in their body and counter-attack or dodge without any wasted movement. The Sharingan's third and most well-known ability is that it grants the user the ability to copy almost any technique that he or she witnesses, apart from other Blood Line techniques. The user can memorize ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu with near-perfect accuracy, allowing the user to use the techniques as their own, or even modify them to create their own new techniques.

Their third and final Blood Line trait was their almost infinite lifespan. The Manji were in a sense immortal and indestructible. They had the ability to live through horrendous attacks, poison, even dismemberment. If a Manji “died” in battle, he or she would simply wake up the next day more powerful than the day prior. It was this reason that the Manji were known as “the Clan of Immortals”, no one could stop them…until the dragons came into play.  
The Manji were ambushed in their home by Imperial Samurai troops with dragon summons and it was then that they discovered the flaw in the Manji’s immortality. A Manji needs their body to fully reanimate. During their six day battle, the Manji were individually sealed away, burned to ashes, frozen then smashed apart and devoured until only a sparse handful remained. They escaped to the sea as the Imperials turned their attention to the rest of Japan and the Manji legend disappeared in the waves, silenced.  
Or so the Imperials think. The Samsara will awaken again and the Wheel will spin once more in the ashes of the fallen clan. A god will rise among the dancing flames and Japan will face judgment. This is the story of Kiyoshi no Manji, the last Manji.


	2. Chapter 1: Forest Dragon Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second verse same as the first. I don't own Naruto.

> “Arashi-sama, you have a visitor in the waiting room.” A messenger said into a dimly lit room.  
>  “Who is it that you have to disturb my sleep?” a soft reptilian voice replied.  
>  “A thousand pardons my lord, the captain of the guard has returned. He says he has located the boy.”  
>  “…I see. Very well, I will attend to him shortly. Dismissed.”  
>  “Hai, Arashi-sama.” The messenger said as he bowed and left the room.

Lord Arashi no Yamata stood and gave his emerald wings a sharp shake to relieve them of cramps before emerging from his sleeping quarters. The dragon summon lord looked around at his castle as his underlings cleaned and carried out their daily tasks. They were a mix of dragon and wyvern summons of varying colours that were a part of the Dragon Summoning contract and as such, swore loyalty to Arashi and the Land he oversees. As a member, albeit unwilling, of the Imperial Court he was given the Tōkaidō (東海道 East Sea Circuit?) one of the many Provinces of Japan to govern. He was made Daimyo of fifteen territories, ten of which were Shinobi villages, three were Samurai and the last two were merchant villages.

He cleared his head of such thoughts as he saw the captain of his guard waiting patiently for him in Henged (transformed) human form. Captain Irin no Youkairyuu was seven feet tall, lanky and had long, blazing red hair. He was wearing a green vest over a black long sleeved shirt that bore an image of a coiled red dragon on his left shoulder. He had black pants with a long red rope entwined at his waist and wore simple sandals. On his back were two black and white katanas. As he saw Arashi, he bowed lowly and greeted him. Arashi nodded at him then said.

> “Captain Irin, welcome back. I trust your journey was a safe one.”  
>  “Hai, Arashi-sama. I bring you news of the whereabouts of the last Manji.’  
>  “Excellent. Before that however, let us have a spot of tea as we talk. I’m sure you are quite tired from the journey.”“Thank you, Arashi-sama. It would be most appreciated.”

Arashi led Irin into a room that served as both Arashi’s study and war room. He curled upon a great dais and gestured Irin to a chair adjacent to him. As Irin sat, four servants came in as busily prepared tea, pouring the beverage into two cups and presenting them to Arashi and Irin respectively before departing. The entire process took less than five minutes a feat noted by Irin.

> “They’ve gotten faster. It used to take them at least ten minutes to fully prepare the tea.”  
>  “Yes, Arashi smirked as he sipped from his large tea cup, after my wife had a word with them.”  
>  “….I see.” Irin said while sweat dropping.  
>  “Now, what is your report?”  
>  “Hai. The last Manji is an adolescent male, around fifteen or sixteen. Approximately sixty three inches, (5’3 feet), and eleven stone in weight (about 152 lbs.) Black shoulder length hair, relatively pale complexion mostly from malnutrition, and azure eyes. He was seen using the Sharingan with three tomoe in each of his eyes, and it is believed that he has not activated his Samsara yet. However he could be concealing it. “
> 
> “I see, Arashi mused, to have a fully mature Sharingan at such a young age. I take it you could not capture him?”  
>  “Well, we-we tried, Irin said sheepishly, he is very adept at taijutsu as well as genjutsu. He defeated my entire team of six using only those two. He didn’t even activate his Sharingan.”  
>  “Astounding, how many did we lose?”  
>  “Actually my lord, no one was killed. Horribly beaten and humiliated, but no deaths”  
>  “What?” Arashi asked incredulously.  
>  “Hai. When I asked him why he spared us, he responded that the Manji respected honor and courage in battle. He commended their loyalty to you and said they earned the right to continue living. “
> 
> “Hmm. Did he know that you were dragons?”  
>  “No, we went Henged.”  
>  “That’s why he didn’t kill you, Arashi said, thank Kami he didn’t use his Sharingan, or he would’ve seen through your Henge. Then I would’ve lost seven irreplaceable warriors.”  
>  “Yes. But we do know where he is currently staying. He will be at the Tshigi fight house in Nasai village located in the Owari territory.”  
>  “He gambles on fighters?” Arashi asked, slightly disappointed.  
>  “No, my lord. He is a fighter. A house favorite at that.”
> 
> “Odd. I would think that a Manji would be glorified.”  
>  “He hasn’t revealed himself to be a Manji to the crowd. He is known as Akuma of the Dark Woods and he wears, according to the report, kabuki robes, samurai armour and an Oni mask. He also acts like a very insane kabuki.”  
>  Arashi chuckled and exhaled lowly before, with a poof of smoke, he Henged into his human form. His human state had dark green hair with black streaks running through it. He was tall, had a toned frame and a fair complexion. His eyes were a toxic green that slowly turned red as it revealed a spinning Sharingan.
> 
> “Let’s go, Irin, he grinned, I think I’ll issue a challenge to ‘Akuma’.”  
>  “Of course my lord, however your wife and children are due to arrive later this evening. And you know what happens when you keep your wife waiting.”  
>  “…Right, he said as he sweat dropped, hopefully I’ll be able to defeat and capture the Manji before they arrive. I believe my sons will benefit greatly from having someone like him to train with. Heh.”  
>  “Of course, my lord.”


	3. Chapter 2: Tshigi Fight House, Nasai Village

After four hours of traveling on foot, Lord Arashi and Captain Irin arrived in Nasai around five in the evening. They walked towards the edge of the village towards the fight house after getting the whereabouts from a villager. As they approached the stone structure, Irin turned to Arashi.

 

> “My lord, I do not wish to sound insolent, but when you fight the Manji please show a little restraint. We want to cause as little collateral damage as possible.”  
>  “Heh, where’s the fun in that?” Arashi grinned then continued, “Very well, if I go overboard I trust you’ll stop me.”  
>  “Of course, my lord.”  
>  Once they reached the door and knocked, a burly male toad summon opened it and demanded the password.  
>  “Knock at death’s gate.” Arashi said simply staring him in the eyes.  
>  “…G-go right in, Arashi-dono.” He muttered as he lowered his gaze.

Arashi smirked and they walked into an earthen corridor that led the way to descending staircase. As they descended they saw a multitude of beings gathered around a large square arena. Samurai, shinobi, summons and the like all either sat or stood around drinking, smoking, and or both as they watched the fight. Arashi made his way through the crowd when there was a loud thud and a rather portly gryphon summon was sent flying out of the arena toward them. Arashi raised a hand and gently caught him before placing him on the ground as the crowd roared its approval. The gryphon bowed and said sheepishly,

 

> “Many thanks; the one I was fighting was stronger than he looked. He sent me away with a simple chakra powered punch.”  
>  He looked up and gasped in shock and reverently whispered,  
>  “A-Arashi-dono?!”  
>  As soon as he said that, the entire crowd went silent as they stared at him.  
>  “The Death god!”  
>  “The Emerald Knight!”  
>  “The Yamata of the Forest!”

Arashi sighed as he heard his monikers whispered by members of the now gathered crowd. He had hoped he could avoid recognition until absolutely necessary but it would seem that Kami was against him. He held up a hand to silence them and inhaled slightly.

 

> “I seek the one who calls himself Akuma of the Dark Woods.”  
>  There came an eccentric laugh and a blur leapt over the crowd and landed in a meditation pose. He wore flowing red kabuki robes, black samurai armour and a four sided oni mask. The figure looked up at Arashi and spoke in loud theatre-like voice.  
>  “OHO, SO ONE WISHES TO CHALLENGE AKUMA?!”  
>  “Yes, Arashi said with a small smile that would be me.”  
>  “YOSH, he exclaimed, THOU WISH TO PIT THYSELF AGAINST ME?!”  
>  “Yes, He said with a sweat drop, I-I did just say that.”  
>  “YOHO!” “VERY WELL, I ACCEPT THINE CHALLENGE!” “COME, LET US GO TO THE ARENA AND ENGAGE IN THE NEVER ENDING DANCE OF COMBAT!!!”  
>  “Sweet Kami, he murmured then said louder, not so fast. I wish to offer a wager.”  
>  “OH, the oni-masked fighter tilted his head inquiringly, WHAT COULD YOU OFFER AKUMA?!”  
>  “If you win our little spar, I will give you one hundred million and fifty thousand, twenty hundred ryo.”

This caused the crowd to gasp collectively leaving a sudden decrease in air, even Akuma was stunned. He looked at Arashi and said,

 

> “Hmm. A very lucrative offer, you must be very confident in yourself to make such a bet. And if you win?”

Arashi smiled softly then said,

> “I get you.”

This drew an even larger gasp from the crowd, which caused a few of them to pass out from oxygen deprivation. Akuma was floored for a few seconds but recovered quickly,

> “VERY WELL, I ACCEPT THINE CHALLENGE!”

He flipped back into the arena as Arashi followed, shedding his traveling cloak and revealing dark green combat uniform. As Akuma landed he got into a theatrical stance as Arashi went into a balanced neutral stance. Four shinobi at the edge of the arena made hand signs and created a barrier to protect the crowd from jutsu and created smaller ones to protect themselves. Akuma let out a loud Kabuki cry and declared,

> “I AM AKUMA OF THE DARK WOODS! BEHOLD MY MAGNIFENCE AND PREPARE THYSELF FOR HEAVENS NET IS WIDE…BUT LETS NOTHING THROUGH!”  
>  “Why do you talk like that? Arashi asked, you sound old.”  
>  “I AM A SAMURAI OF THE OLD ORDER, Akuma said grandly, A LIFETIME IN THE SEA, A LIFETIME IN THE AIR AND A LIFEIME IN THE WOODS HAVE MADE ME WISE BEYOND YOUR YEARS! I-“  
>  “I am a dragon of the Imperial court, young Manji.”

Akuma paused, looked at Arashi, exploded.


	4. Chapter 3: Tshigi Fight House, Nasai Village

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own Naruto.

This is the first interaction between Arashi and Kiyoshi, and this will be rather...explosive.

_‘Thoughts’_

**‘Jutsus’**

“Speech”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘ Akuma’ exploded with an extreme chakra expulsion causing his armour and robes to blast off of his body forcing Arashi to duck. As he righted himself, he grinned and murmured, “There you are, little Manji.” The last Manji glared at him, azure eyes flashing angrily as he crossed his arms over his thin chest. His shoulder length black hair draped over his red and black robes that had several manjis on the lapels. His robe slightly extended past his black pants which were tucked into shinobi boots. On his left leg there was a shurikan pouch and on his right was a kunai holster. His skin was pale and his body was slightly emaciated but the power he was exuding rivaled that of three elite ninja. He frowned slightly, tilting his head ever so slightly to the left and asked in a cold, almost sinister voice,

 

> “So, you are the one, who sent those soldiers after me, Arashi was it? Why?”
> 
> “I heard rumors of a surviving Manji, and it intrigued me. You intrigue me.”
> 
> “So, the Manji are nothing more than objects of your fascination”, he angrily asked tone never changing, “nothing more than…playthings to you dragons? And when you tire of us, you simply dispose of us?”

 

The amount of Killer Intent the Manji was exuding caused Arashi to tense, even outside of the barrier the crowd felt his KI. Many of them were struggling to breathe while others had passed out from the sheer pressure.

 

> ‘He’s already at jounin level and just barely an adolescent; even in his weakened state he could still gravely injure me. Kami knows what would happen if he was at full strength.’ Arashi thought nervously. “That is not the reason I want you Manji I-“

He froze as the Manji’s eyes became filled with cold fury and said,

 

> “Do. NOT. Lie to me. You made me reveal myself to this village, the Manji said, after I kill you I’ll have to go to another province. After I kill every member of this crowd.”
> 
> “I can’t let you do that, young Manji; Arashi said calmly slipping into a fighting stance, as Lord Regent of Tōkaidō it is my responsibility to protect members of all of my territories. I will beat you for their safety as well as yours.”

The Manji looked slightly confused but lapsed back into his frown and uncrossed his arms.

 

> “My name is Kiyoshi no Manji. I am the last member of the main branch, and the last Manji in Japan, he said softly, I…will NOT be defeated here, by you or anyone else! Before I leave the world of the living, there is something I must do.”

He glared activating his Sharingan and yelled, “And you’re in my way!”

With that he rushed towards Arashi, who prepared to engage him, before he lost sight of him. Kiyoshi threw a right roundhouse punch at Arashi’s head moving faster than the crowd could see. Arashi barely had enough time to block before the chakra powered punch connected to his arms and sent him skidding. He recovered as Kiyoshi appeared below him, balancing on one hand, and kicked him under his chin lifting him up a few feet. Kiyoshi twisted on his hands, bringing his right leg forward and striking him in the chest with his shin. Arashi went tumbling before getting to his feet, panting slightly, and getting into a defensive stance as Kiyoshi went to his feet. He stared impassively at Arashi as he watched the dragon lord for any openings.

 

> ‘Kami, he’s stronger than I expected, Arashi thought, 'his speed is ridiculous. I’ll have to tread carefully if I want to beat him.’ Arashi quickly went through hand seals as Kiyoshi did the same: “Katon: Goukakyuu (Great Fireball)!” Arashi Yelled. “Suiton: Mizukabe kasukēdosetsuzokusuru (Cascading Water Wall).” Kiyoshi intoned.

Arashi sent a massive fireball hurtling towards Kiyoshi whose cheeks bulged before he spat out a torrent of water. The water hit the fireball and extinguished it immediately resulting in a great amount of steam. As the steam obscured both combatants vision, Arashi went through another set of hand seals and cried out, “Futon: Daitoppa! (Great Breakthrough)” A savage gust of wind tore through the steam and raced towards Kiyoshi who quickly made hand seals and said, “Doton: Doryūheki! (Earth Wall)” A wall made entirely of earth sprang up and took the brunt of the wind gust. Kiyoshi panted slightly and leaned against the wall for support, his vision blurring from exhaustion. He coughed into his hand and was shocked to see flecks of blood staining them. He shook slightly as he put his hand to his left eye.

 

> ‘Not good, I’m nearly at my limit for chakra. I have about two jutsu left before I pass out. I can’t risk opening the gates, my body will not survive. No choice but to use those two.” Kiyoshi ran through an intricate set of seals before leaping into the air, shocking Arashi, and yelled, “Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku! (Great Fire Annihilation)”

A tremendous gout searing red fire shot from Kiyoshi enveloping the entire arena floor and demolishing the barrier, nearly killing the barrier casters and scorching the crowd members’ eyebrows. Arashi made hand seals before the fire consumed him and the fire continued to burn for several more seconds before dispelling. Kiyoshi landed and went to his knee, panting heavily with blood spilling from his mouth. He glanced around trying to find Arashi when he glanced down, the ground underneath him crumble slightly. With a curse, he leapt away as Arashi burst out yelling,

 

> “Secret Taijutsu Art: Shoryuken! (Rising Dragon Fist)”

He landed and sweat dropped when he saw that he missed then said, “Darn, that was one of my most powerful attacks. I’m surprised you dodged it. But, you’re at your limit. Surrender now, so we can-“ “NEVER!”

Kiyoshi screamed eyes bulging in fury as he went through another set of hand signs, hand signs that Arashi recognized and immediately made his own. ‘If he unleashes that jutsu, this entire village will be destroyed. Have to stop him at all costs!’ Kiyoshi clasped his hands and said with a psychotic grin, “This ends now. Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai…” “Hiraishin! (Flying Thunder God)”

Arashi yelled appearing in front of Kiyoshi with his left hand gripping his hands, stopping the jutsu. His right hand was engulfed in purple flames as he slammed it into Kiyoshi’s midsection. When it hit, Kiyoshi lurched forward expelling blood as his eyes revert to their normal azure. He looked at Arashi with a mix of hate and fear then murmured,

 

> “G-Gogyō Fūin. T-the f-five pronged seal. I-I made a f-fatal m-mistake, d-damn you. I w-was s-so close.”

With that, Kiyoshi’s eyes closed and he drifted into unconsciousness as Arashi looked at him with a mix of pity and guilt. He gently lowered him to the arena floor and checked his pulse, his eyes widened at the sluggish pace his heart was beating and called out,

 

> “Irin, we’re leaving. Now!”


	5. Chapter 4: Tshigi Fight House, Nasai Village

 

Captain Irin appeared in a swirl of leaves and knelt next to Arashi concern evident on his face. He looked at Kiyoshi’s pale face then asked,

> “ Your orders, my Lord?”
> 
> “Transform and take him to medical ward. Tell Chiri to immediately see him and begin the healing process. I will be along shortly. I have a feeling my wife has made it home, explain the situation to her and tell her,” here he gulped, “tell her I’ll take her wrath.”
> 
> “Hai!”

            Irin exhaled and with a poof, a medium sized ruby dragon was in his place. He gently gripped Kiyoshi in his jaws and with a last look at Arashi, _shunshined(Body Flicker Technique)_ outside. He spread his wings and launched into the air before rushing towards the castle grounds. As he left, Arashi stood and looked to the cheering crowd then raised his hand to silence them.

> “Thank you. Now, I know what just happened was in all respects a battle many of you never thought you would see. A fight between a dragon and a Manji. I know that you will want to tell of this fight to as many who will listen. You will not. As of now, what transpired here is an SS-class secret. As witnesses, you may never speak of this again unless I repeal my decision. Any and all who break this decree will be sentenced to a public execution,” his voice turned cold and he continued, “so help me, I will decimate this entire village if you push me on this. Am I understood?”
> 
> “HAI, ARASHI-DONO!!” the crowd yelled in fear at the Death God.
> 
> “Good,” he grinned, “now I must take my leave. Have a pleasant evening!”
> 
>             He cheerily walked out of the arena, through the crowd, and outside into the crisp night air. He inhaled as his expression immediately sobered and looked up. He saw a waning crescent moon and thought seriously,
> 
> ‘ _I’m sorry, old friend. I’ve failed you.’_

He transformed into his dragon form and took off towards his castle. After several minutes of flying, he saw the familiar sight of his castle grounds. And the even more familiar sight of a red haired woman in a white and light blue kimono crossing her arms and looking up at him. He gulped nervously and descended, henging as he did. He smiled sheepishly as the woman approached and said,

> “   Ren-hime, I’m so glad..”

            That was all he got out before he was clubbed by a large (and spiked!) kanabō into the ground by his irate spouse. He groaned as his soul escaped through his mouth, she gripped him by his robe and lifted him to her eye level.

> “So,” she began sweetly, “want to tell me why you decided to fight a Manji instead of welcoming your family home?”
> 
> “Do I get to live if I do?” He asked weakly with a smile.
> 
> “I’m still mulling that thought around, she stated dropping her kanabō which made a huge dent in the forest floor, talk. Now.”

            Arashi sighed and told her what transpired in the last few hours. At the end, she sighed and let him go before asking,

> “You realize he was in critical condition when Chiri got to him? High fever, dehydrated and malnourished, chakra nearly depleted. Not to mention pure exhaustion, add the fact you put an odd numbered seal on top of an even numbered seal, if the boy wasn’t a Manji, he would be dead. Did you really need to go to such lengths?”

            Arashi was dumbfounded, he knew Kiyoshi was not at full strength when they fought, but he didn’t realize how severely drained he was. Shame flooded him as he looked down with trembling hands.

> “Noboru, Tsuri. I have failed you, I let your child suffer needlessly.” He muttered bitterly. Ren frowned and went to him then asked,
> 
> “You knew his parents? And you aren’t one to make drastic decisions like this on whim….Who is this child to you?”

Arashi looked up with sorrow in his eyes and whispered,

            “He is the son of my last summoner, Noboru no Manji…and he also my god son.”

> “What?!”
> 
> “Yes, fourteen years ago I was summoned to the Manji Compound at their home in the Great Forest of San'indō (山陰道, _Shade Mountain Circuit_ ) by Noboru. I was shocked that he summoned me when there weren’t enemies present, then I saw his one year old son. He was so ecstatic for me to meet his newly born son that his grin was threatening to split his face. He asked me to be his godfather and if I would let him sign my contract. I…agreed to be his godfather but, to my great shame, refused to let a child sign my contact. My pride wouldn’t allow it. I still remember him frowning and saying that while he understood he was nevertheless disappointed. I thought nothing of it as the next day the boy signed a contract with the Snake under my brother Yamata no Orochi, the Great eight-headed snake. He came to me and bragged that his new summoner would far surpass his father in a few years, I laughed and said that would be the day the Manji fall.”

He paused and exhaled shakily then continued,

> “Then six years later, they were attacked. He summoned me to the fight and for six days we laid many of our enemies to waste. I was surprised to see not only my brother but Kiyoshi riding on one of his heads, decimating the enemy forces. I was shocked, a child using A-rank jutsu with apparent ease and with no fear. I felt like kicking myself for not taking his contract…then Noboru was dealt a crippling blow and as I got him away from the battle field I saw Orochi get hit with a massive fireball, jarring Kiyoshi from his head. Noboru screamed in anger and with great fury used three of his clans forbidden technique to wipe away a vast majority of the enemy forces. But the damage was done, only a handful of the Manji remained and the enemy kept coming. They were forced to retreat to the sea. Before he went into his stasis, Noboru begged me to find Kiyoshi if it was the last thing I did. I told him I would and give him to him. H-he smiled and said that his time was over. I then noticed a seal appearing on his chest and with a final grin, he-he passed into the void.”

Arashi felt tears falling from his eyes and said in a soft voice,

> “I searched the entire compound and the entirety of San’indō, but I could not find him. I can only imagine how he survived, when I saw him again his eyes once filled with joy and wonder are now full of pain, sorrow, and a bitter coldness. I’ve failed him as a godfather, as I have failed his family.”

Ren sighed and embraced him, holding him to her as she felt his guilt and sadness radiating from him. She raised his head and kissed him before saying,

> “Arashi, I am sorry that I made you relive that memory, but now you have a second chance to redeem yourself. You can honor your summoner by raising Kiyoshi alongside our sons and help him avenge his clan. Kami has given you this chance, don’t squander it.”
> 
> “You are right beloved, he said softly, I will **_not_** fail him again. I will give him what he should have had all those years ago. A family. I will go see to him then to our sons.”

He kissed his mate again and went off towards the medical ward as Ren looked after him with a guarded expression on her face.

\-----------CHAPTER BREAK--------------------

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Kiyoshi’s eyes shot open as he jerked up in the white medical bed as the various machinery took note of his newly regained consciousness. He looked around wildly while beginning to hyperventilate.

> _‘Where am I?, he thought frantically, the last thing I remember is the fight with…’_

            His eyes widened and threw off the white sheet covering his body, exposing his pale chest that seemed to glow in the near darkness of the room. He began gathering chakra and with dread, noticed how difficult it was to mold it. His shoulders slumped as he saw his Fūin no Manji overlapped with a five Elemental seal. He couldn’t form any of his necessary jutsu to escape, and if that means….His eyes narrowed as he recalled what Arashi said,

> _‘I get you’_

His entire body trembled and he put his head in his hands, trying not to let emotion get to him. He was captured again. His mind went unbidden to last time he was in a dragon’s custody, the beatings, the torture, the isolation. He spent five years in those conditions before finally fleeing and now he was in the same scenario once again. He felt tears burning his azure eyes and choked back a sob as he cringed at the memories. He could still see their face laughing as they broke him just to see him reanimate, their sadistic pleasure in showing him genjutsu of his family being murdered. He grabbed his head as he felt the pressure building until he did the one thing that he never did. He screamed. He screamed in rage, in sorrow and in fear. He writhed as his screaming caused throes in his body. After several minutes he stopped and sobbed openly, letting the tears trail down his face. He jerked when he sensed another presence in the room and glared at him.

> “You.” He said with anger as realization hit him.
> 
> “Hai, Kiyoshi-san.”
> 
> “You-you were there.”
> 
> “Yes, I was.” Arashi said stepping out of the shadows in his dragon form and Henged into his human form. Kiyoshi shook with suppressed rage and asked icily,
> 
> “So, what do you think my father would think of you now, _godfather?"_
> 
> “Kiyoshi-I”

            He was cut off when Kiyoshi leapt off the bed and struck him in the face. Arashi’s head snapped to the side and he looked at Kiyoshi with shame and sorrow. Kiyoshi gripped him, an impressive feat considering Arashi was three feet taller than him and yelled,

> “Do you have **ANY** idea of the **HELL** I went through?! Do you know what the last nine years of my life consisted of?! Torture! Being shown my family dying! I have been killed **FOURTEEN TIMES! I’M ONLY FIFTEEN!** And where were you, HUH?! Where were you when I needed you the most?! And when I finally see you again, you don’t say you’re my godfather, **NO,** you want to fight! The HELL with you! I-“

He was cut off when Arashi pulled him into a tight embrace, tears falling from his eyes. Kiyoshi stiffened and whispered,

> “How dare you?”
> 
> “I am so sorry, Kiyoshi, he murmured, I-I cannot imagine the pain you went through. I’m so sorry! I should’ve looked harder for you! I should’ve torn every province apart to find you! I’m so sorry! I don’t expect you to forgive me for I cannot forgive myself. I won’t force you to stay, but if you choose to I swear, **_No one_** will ever harm you again. You will **_NEVER_** be alone again. I am so sorry. I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust again. I am so sorry.”

            He tightened his embrace as Kiyoshi trembled. His head was roiling with thoughts and conflicting emotions. The cold, intellectual side of his mind was telling him to ignore his pleas and as soon as he healed, leave. The child-like, optimistic side of his mind was telling him to trust Arashi and at the very least give him a chance to redeem himself.

            ‘ _He seems really sincere. **It might be just a ploy to gain my trust.** But no dragon apologized to me with such fervor and conviction. **But even criminals will adopt a persona of benevolence to avoid death.** But..I don’t want to be alone again. **I….don’t want to be alone again.’**_ Kiyoshi debated with himself before he looked at Arashi.

            “D-do you mean it? I won’t be alone or hurt ever again?” he whispered closing his eyes.

            He felt Arashi grab his shoulders and softly said,

            “Look at me, Kiyoshi.”

            He opened his eyes and saw a look he hadn’t seen in nine years. It was affection and compassion in Arashi’s eyes, at that Kiyoshi broke down and wept into his shoulder, letting the barrier between his emotions fall. Arashi stroked Kiyoshi’s hair and murmured,

            “I swear to you Kiyoshi-kun that I will do what I should’ve done nine years ago. I will protect you, care for you and love you. I would sooner slit my own throat before letting you go through what you did again.”

            “*sniff* you promise?’

            Arashi chuckled and embraced him again. He smiled and thought,

> ‘ _Inside that cold, calculating head of his is a emotional and fragile child. I’m glad that even after all the hell he went through, he still retained a small part of his childish innocence.’_
> 
> “Yes Kiyoshi-kun, I promise. And I **never** go back on my promises.”

            Kiyoshi smiled genuinely and hugged Arashi, causing him to smile as well and tighten his hold on him. They stayed like that for a few more seconds before separating. Kiyoshi smiled then asked,

> “So what now…tou-san?”
> 
> “Now”, Arashi said smiling at the honorific, “ we begin your healing. Tomorrow, I’m going to remove the seal from you and you’re going to meet my sons, your god-brothers. They’ll want to spar with you, that’s how they get to know someone best. I also feel that a light hearted spar will raise your spirits, it always worked with your father.”
> 
> “…Alright, and then?”
> 
> “Then, we begin your training.”
> 
> “Tou-san, what is this leading to?”
> 
> “Why, the avenging of your clan, Kiyoshi-kun.” Arashi said with a smile.

            Kiyoshi looked shocked then a wide grin spread across his face as he nods excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment, tell me how I'm doing.


	6. Chapter 5: Forest Dragon Castle

Chapter 5: Forest Dragon Castle

Kiyoshi awoke from the best sleep he had in nine years with an a honest to Kami smile on his face. He sat up and stretched as the rays of the morning sun filtered into the room from the small window. He took in the room and was surprised to see that it was a different room than the medical ward. This room was at least three times larger as was the bed. There was a large wardrobe in the far corner which took up five feet width-wise, a weapons rack filled with swords and kunai knives, and above was a banner bearing his clans symbol: a manji surrounded by trees. Next to his large bed was a small desk with a folded piece of parchment paper that had Arashi’s handwriting on it.

He took it and read it silently:

> Kiyoshi-musuko, ‘Good morning my godson, I truly hope you had a, well deserved , good night’s sleep. As you no doubt noticed, this is your room. I built it after that day in the hopes that you would be found quickly. Again, I am eternally sorry that it took this long to find you. But, today is a new day and the first step of healing. There are clothes in the wardrobe as well as two weapon scrolls that belonged to your father, I’m sure you’ll find their contents…interesting to say the least. There is a bathroom, fully equipped, in your room as well. As you will see, there is a large seal on the western wall that leads to it, it is activated by blood. After you’ve bathed, come to the training field about two miles from the castle. I will be exuding enough chakra for you track, also I removed the seal from you, so you can completely refill your chakra coils. But, I’d would rather you postpone that until you come to the training field, my wife would not appreciate it if you wrecked half of our castle. And you do not want to make her upset.’ Until then my musuko, -Arashi.

Kiyoshi smiled and stepped out of his bed onto a floor covered in soft grass. He looked down and was amazed to see that the entire room was like his previous home. He reached down to stroke the green grass, feeling each individual blade on his fingertips and inhaled it’s scent. He let his chakra flare once and a single blade of grass shot into the air, propelled by his chakra. It floated slowly down as he smiled softly, ‘My control has improved. I guess the near death experience sharpened it, I’ll have to thank Arashi-tou-san for that.’ He went to the wall and saw a large circular seal with a small manji in the middle. He bit his thumb to draw blood and wiped it across the center of the seal which caused a wooden door to appear. He opened it and grinned at what he saw before going inside.

Inside was a huge basin under five large marble fountains in the shape of dragon mouths. He stepped farther into the room as he began to disrobe; he saw a pair of nozzle with the kanji for hot and cold above them and twisted the hot to the fullest and the cold to its halfway mark. As he did, clear steaming hot water began to flow from three of the dragon’s mouths while cold water streamed from the remaining two. The water filled the basin and steam began to fill the room as the basin became full after several seconds. Kiyoshi turned the faucets off and slipped into the water, sighing as the heated water sank into his muscles. He found that the basin was surprisingly deep as he could float freely about the entirety of the basin. He lay on his back and floated, absorbing the heat and began to think.

> ‘This is nice, I can’t remember the last time I had an actual bath. I feel like a child again, yet I still feel somewhat empty inside. How troublesome. I hope this spar will lift my spirits; after all I am going against two of his sons. He gave my trouble and I could tell he was holding back, granted I was at my weakest, but still.’

He dipped under the water and surfaced again with a small gasp as he began to wash his hair, running his fingers through the long ebony strands as he massaged shampoo into it. He ducked under water again to rinse and when he surfaced; his hair was slicked in front of his face. He tossed his head making his hair whip back as he swam to the edge of the basin. He got out and dried off as the water quickly drained then wrapped the towel around his waist before walking back into his room. He went to the wardrobe, opened it and began to get dressed. After a few minutes he stepped out with two scrolls under his arms dressed in a black mesh shirt, black pants with horizontal slits at the knees. Over his shirt he wore a red and black jacket with the manji crest on the back. He laid out one of the scrolls and grinned when he saw what was sealed in it. He bit his thumb again as swiped across three concentric circles. With a large poof of smoke three weapons appeared and fell on the bed. The first two were twin black and white kodachi’s in their sheaths and the last was a massive nodachi in its blood red sheath.

Kiyoshi grinned and strapped the two kodachi’s to his right hip and sealed the nodachi into his left arm. He went to the window in his room and opened it feeling the wind hit his face as he crouched in the window sill. His room was about thirty feet up and about two meters away from the nearest tree, he turned his head to the west and sensed Arashi’s chakra signature about two and a half miles away. He tensed, charging chakra into his legs, and then leapt from the window towards the tree. For about ten seconds, he soared through open air feeling like a bird. Then he landed on an outstretched branch and propelled himself through the surrounding forest. For two miles, he moved fluidly through the trees like a phantom almost appearing to fly. He stopped on a branch above a clearing as he saw a large emerald dragon appearing to be dozing in the middle of it. He paused out of habit until he recognized Arashi’s chakra coming from it and dropped silently then walked towards him. As he got within a few feet, the dragon opened his eyes and grinned as he saw Kiyoshi approaching.

> “Ah, Kiyoshi, he said in a light baritone, how good it is to see you. You look well, a spitting image of your mother with your fathers eyes.”

He nuzzled Kiyoshi, which caused him to stiffen at the contact before relaxing and leaning slightly into it. Arashi noted this and thought,

> ‘Are gestures of affection this foreign to him? Well, I suppose it’s to be expected after his life. We’ll fix that easily.’
> 
> “Thank you Tou-san, I am well. So are we waiting for my…anikis now?”
> 
> “Yes, they are on their way. But before they arrive, I would like to see you at full chakra capacity. I believe we are far enough from the castle to avoid damaging it.”
> 
> “Hai, Tou-san.”

Kiyoshi inhaled and placed his palms together in front of his chest before closing his eyes. He imagined a fire in the middle of his chakra coils and then exponentially made the fire rage and grow. His eyes shot opened as chakra flooded each of his chakra nodes and exhaled shakily as the chakra continued to manifest. Arashi watched with fascination as he saw his godson’s chakra whip and coil around him. He noted that his chakra was a light red in color and was surprisingly dense in nature. The wind picked up to gale forces as Kiyoshi continued to mold his chakra. The surrounding trees started to bend slightly at the strain and the ground around Kiyoshi began to become rent. Kiyoshi exhaled again and dropped his hands, feeling the familiar flush of chakra rushing through his body and felt almost giddy. He turned to Arashi and asked,

> “So, are they going to stay hidden much longer, Tou-san? Because I’m pretty anxious to get started.”

Arashi grinned and flared his chakra twice in succession in a code. A large dark green dragon flew out of the trees, moving almost imperceptibly toward them. Kiyoshi subconsciously gripped one of his kodachi’s as the blur came closer and then stopped next to Arashi. Kiyoshi saw that the new dragon was about five meters high to Arashi, who was ten meters. His eyes were light green in color and were looking at Kiyoshi in curiosity. Kiyoshi became slightly unnerved at his eyes, he was used to them glaring or leering at him, never full of open curiosity. Arashi smiled and said,

> “Kiyoshi-musuko, this is my oldest son, Izuna no Yamata . Izuna, this is Kiyoshi no Manji , your godbrother.”

Izuna looked surprised and walked over to Kiyoshi who backed up subconsciously causing him to pause. He tilted his head and asked in a low tenor,

> “Why do you flee, ototo? Do I scare you?”
> 
> “My apologies, Kiyoshi said bowing slightly, it was a force of habit.” ‘Idiot, he mentally cursed at himself, do you really think Arashi-tou-san would you here to hurt you? Think!’

Izuna nods and then smirks,

> “Well, you have good instincts. Being on your guard will always keep you alive…and you’ll always come out clean.”

Kiyoshi frowned at the strange phrase before noticing that his eyes darted behind him for a few seconds. He made a hand sign and shunshined to the left of Arashi as a huge orb of mud landed to where he was originally standing. Izuna chuckled as did Arashi as Kiyoshi smirked and said,

> “You’ll have to be quicker than that, aniki.”
> 
> “Heh, I guess we will. Natsu, you can come out now!”

A medium sized forest green dragon burst out of the ground and flew to Izuna. He was about four meters high with toxic green eyes filled with mischief. He grinned and asked,

> “So this my new ototo? Nice to meet you!” “It is nice to meet you too, Natsu-nii.” “Oh, so formal, he smirked, I’m gonna have fun with this. So, shall we start?”

Arashi grins and says,

> “This is just a light-hearted spar. Try not to destroy too much of the forest. You have ten minutes, you can use any jutsu and any form. Ready?”

Kiyoshi placed his hands on his Kodachi and went into a low stance as his new brothers Henged into human forms. Izuna had medium length black hair while Natsu had short, spiky red. Izuna wore steel mesh armor over a black long sleeved shirt. His pants were black samurai armored slacks. On his back were two katanas which he drew and pointed one at Kiyoshi. Natsu wore a short jacket over a mesh shirt with a dragon coiled around it. He wore simple green slacks with open-toed sandals. He had a long black bo staff across his shoulders and grinned.

> “Alright then, Arashi said as he leapt into the sky, HAJIME!”

Kiyoshi quickly went through hand seals and yelled,

> “ **Doton: Doryudan!** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet)”

The mud behind them formed into a dragon mouth which opened and shot out a barrage of hardened mud toward them. Izuna blocked them with his sword while Natsu rushed Kiyoshi twirling his bo staff as Kiyoshi drew his kodachi. Natsu swung his staff horizontally at Kiyoshi who leaned backwards while thrusting his kodachi towards him. Natsu shifted and blocked the point of the blade with the middle of his staff making him skid back. His eyes widened when he saw Kiyoshi coursing chakra through his blade making it glow. He leapt away as Izuna appeared with both blades drawn and a grin plastered on his face. Kiyoshi blocked his initial attack and drew his other kodachi and they began to engage in a furious dance of parries, slashes, thrusts and ripostes. They separated then rushed back in with Kiyoshi yelling,

> “ **Kenjutsu: Burēdo Kiken**!( Blade Hazard)”

His swords glowed and he swung them in front of him, sending two waves of chakra towards them. The chakra beams sliced the ground like it was butter, Izuna leapt into the air as did Natsu and transformed into their dragon forms. They circled him and simultaneously cried out,

> “Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku! (Fire Style:Great Fire Annihilation!)”

Two massive gouts of fire shot out of their mouths and traveled towards Kiyoshi who began spinning at a high rate of speed. As the flames hit, they began to swirl and formed a multitude of small tomoe. Kiyoshi stopped spinning and held his swords at a horizontal angle and said smugly,

> “ **Manji Kenjutsu: Ha no honō sōsa** (Bladed Flame Manipulation)”

He turned his swords and the flaming tomoe began to spin, he grinned and yelled,

> “Try this! “ **Enton: Yasaka Magatama**! (Inferno release: Eight Slopes Curved Jewel)”

The tomoe combined into eight three-pronged shurikans and flew toward the two dragons. They immediately began to take evasive action as the shurikans hit and exploded in huge conflagrations that sent burning shrapnel in every direction which homed in on their chakra signatures. Izuna nosedived toward the ground as the flames followed him, as he neared the ground he quickly pulled up thinking to cause the flames to hit the ground and disperse. While the flames did hit the ground, they did not disperse as he had hoped. Instead they paused before they struck the ground and realigned themselves toward Izuna before charging at him Izuna snarled slightly and noticed Kiyoshi standing in one spot using his chakra infused swords to guide the flaming shurikans. He saw that his Sharingan was activated and immediately came up with a plan. He rose up and called to his brother.

> “Natsu, get out of his line of sight!”
> 
> “That’s how the flames are following us!”
> 
> “That won’t help aniki, Kiyoshi grinned, I’m locked on to your chakra! You won’t escape me!”
> 
> “Time’s up!”

Arashi called and landed on the ground. The flames died down and faded away, allowing Izuna and Natsu to land panting. Kiyoshi sheathed his swords and walked over to them with a smile.

> ‘That was the most fun I had in years, he thought happily, I would never have dreamed that I would get to use that technique in a friendly match.’

He was brought out his thoughts by Arashi clearing his throat and beginning to speak,

> “Let me first say how impressed I am by all of your efforts in that spar. Izuna your swordplay has improved drastically and Natsu your bokujutsu is as deadly as ever. Kiyoshi , you surprised me with both your knowledge of Kenjutsu and your ability to manipulate chakra through it. Well done all of you. But, there are two wrongs I must right. Izuna and Natsu, you grossly underestimated your opponent. As I’ve told you before, just because you are dragons does not mean you are invincible. Kiyoshi was holding back a great deal and he still held the upper hand in that bout. You two held back out of pride and condescension and you saw what happened then.” “But Father, Natsu said, I’m at Jounin level and Izuna is at Kage level. If we went all out , we might have hurt or killed Kiyoshi!”
> 
> “Not true, Arashi returned with a grin, Kiyoshi-kun attained Jounin strength when he was seven and attained Kage level power at the age of eleven. Hi s power far exceeds both of yours and he could defeat you both with ease if he went full power. “

Both Izuna and Natsu looked down in anger and Kiyoshi silently sighed as he closed his eyes. He could already hear their angry voices yelling at him and telling him how much he deserved to die.

> “Kiyoshi-ototo?” Natsu called.
> 
> “Yes, Natsu-san?”

He responded desolately.

> “Do you think we’re angry at you?”, he asked then smiled when Kiyoshi nodded sadly, "Ototo, why would we be angry with you? You earned your power, just like both of us. We’re angry with ourselves, with how complacent we’ve both gotten.”
> 
> “Yes, Izuna said with a small smile, this has nothing to do with you being more powerful than us. In fact, I’m elated in having a little brother who far exceeds me. I can use you as measuring mark for our progress. “

He walked over to Kiyoshi and nuzzled against him then continued,

> “Never be ashamed of power you so rightfully earned, Kiyoshi-kun. We don’t, why should you?”

Kiyoshi couldn’t believe his ears, they both didn’t resent him for how strong he is? Even as Akuma, a crowd favorite, there were those who openly hated him for using a third of his power. He grinned and nods. Arashi smiled at the display and said,

“Very well said you two. Now, Kiyoshi there isn’t a lot I can critique with you as all of you made very little mistakes. The one thing that does concern me is that you don’t overuse those eyes of yours. That Yasaka Magatama took a lot of chakra to use and even more to further guide each individual tomoe. If this were a real battle, you would not be afforded the time to form that grand of an attack."

“Hai, tou-san.” Kiyoshi nods. “Well, now that that’s over with we have something very important to do now.”

The three of them tensed at his serious tone and leaned in to hear him, “We must now….break for lunch!” All three of them face-faulted and groaned at his grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment.


	7. Chapter 6: Unknown Location (Five years earlier)

**Legend:**

“Normal Speech”

‘ _Thoughts’_

**_“_ ** **Demented Speech”**

**‘Demented Thoughts’**

* * *

 

 

            A child clothed in tattered rags sits silently in the middle of a small cage; long black bangs covered his face as he heard footsteps approach him. He didn’t look up as he an overweight man dressed in opulent robes came to stand in front of him, sneering at him through the bars. He spat and spoke in a greasy, nasal voice;

 

>             “The _great_ and _powerful_ Manji, how far you’ve fallen from your oh so high perch. A clan said to be so powerful that they rivaled Kami. Now look at you, the last Manji, you are where you belong; under my feet!”

            He laughed and continued;

 

>             “To think, I was afraid of you! A mere child not even ten years of age and able to wield such power! But a lot of good that power does you when you’ve got those chakra repressing cuffs on you, huh?”

            The boy said nothing, only looked down at his hands staring at the wooden restraints imbued with a seal that blocked his chakra. The man, not liking being ignored, continued again.

            “And now you’re all alone! No one cares for you! Well one person did, but look where that got her.”

            The boys hand clenched in anger but otherwise remained stoic as the man continued to ramble on;

            “Poor Asuka, such a pretty slave”, he said in mock sorrow, “She would’ve gotten me such a profit if she hadn’t shown pity on you! But in the end she served her purpose and _pleased_ me. Such a shame the rest of the men weren’t so gentle with her. By the time they got finished with her, there was no way she would’ve been worth much. So I did her a small mercy, after I _pleasured_ her, I ended her existence. Thing is, she would’ve been alive if it wasn’t for _you_. _You_ killed her! _You_ are responsible for what happened to her!”

            The boy shook slightly as the man began to laugh at him, and his mind showed him her face, beautiful lavender eyes and flowing brown hair. She was the only one who showed any hint of kindness to him, healing his wounds after they beat him, sneaking him food when they starved him, and simply talking to him letting him know that even in this darkness, light will find a way to shine. Then they were found out, and he was forced to watch as that...bastard used her and then gave her to his men. He felt something in him shatter as he recalled this memory and he looked at the laughing man. There came a slight chuckle that stopped the laughing man in his tracks. The boy was chuckling softly as his sanity slowly crumbled to dust. With every passing second, more of sanity and psyche withered, and his laughter became louder and crazed until at last he stopped and whispered,

            “ ** _ME?”_**

            “W-what”? The man stuttered nervously at the deranged tone.

            “ ** _I killed her?”_** he asked with a tilt of his head, “ **Impossible.”**

He looked up with a manic grin and said,

            **“ _I_ didn’t put the knife in her. I would remember if I did. The feel of blood is not something one would forget. Tell _me,_ how did it feel to kill her? Did it make you feel _strong? In control? Hee-hee-hee._ You’re _sooo_ intimidating, killing an emaciated woman.”**

“S-shut up, you brat!” The man yelled growing red in the face and reaching for the knife he kept with him.

            **“They must sing songs of your… _strength_ while they screw your slaves. _Sooo_ powerful.” **The boy continued with an insane glint in his eye as the man began to shake with rage at the insult.

            **“Of course if I had the member the size of a small child I would be trying throw myself around as if I was Kami’s gift to women. Wait, no I wouldn’t because if you have force yourself on another you must have been dealt the world’s cruelest _shortcoming._ Hee-hee-hee.”**

With a roar, the man unlocked the door and rushed in while shouting,

            “I’ll kill you, you freak!”

            He swung the knife in downward slash as the boy brought his hands up.

            (Song insert: The Reflecting God by Marilyn Manson)

            The man smirked when he saw blood dripping from the boy’s face and prepared to rush again when he froze in fear. The boy rose, hands free of the hand cuffs, and leered at him as he activated his Sharingan. The man fell on his butt and paled at the amount of killing intent the small boy was producing. The boy tilted his head and said mockingly,

            “ **Pity. I was looking forward to you killing me. But if you won’t kill me, I’ll just have to kill you. And I will. Slowly. Painfully. I will repay five years of torture a hundred times fold!”**

With that, he shot forward punching the man in the face and sent him tumbling out of the cage. The man groaned in pain and looked up in fear at the pale child covered in rags with his eyes glowing red. He looked like a demon in all of his terrible rage. The boy tutted and said,

            “ **A shame. My strength isn’t what it used to be and my chakra will take a few minutes to fully recharge. But don’t worry,”** here he picked up the knife and twirled it with expert ease,” **I can still play with you. If only for a little while.”**

The man panicked and tried to crawl away all the while begging for the boy to spare him. The boy chuckled lightly before rushing forward and stabbing him in his vast stomach drawing a loud scream form him. The boy grinned and snarled,

”           **Begging for your life? That’s really pathetic of you, you were so confident in yourself all these years. Saying that you would be _thrilled_ to kill a Manji and that we got off easy compared what you would do to us. Well? What happened to all your earlier enthusiasm?”**

He twisted the knife viciously and yanked it out before stabbing him again,

            “ **Where’s your arrogance now? What happened to all your _strength_ that you bragged so much about?”**

He slashed diagonally upwards leaving a jagged line of blood from his navel to the right side of his chest. The man screamed again and tried to push him away causing the boy to laugh then he kicked him in the face making him slump against the wall.

            “ **I bet you _really_ hate yourself for placing silencing seals around this room, huh? Well, I’ve wasted enough time as is with you. After all,” **he glared and grinned while his Sharingan changed shape into a Manji with four tomoes surrounding it,” **I have to repay all the kindness your men gave me over the years. So.”**

He locked his eyes with the man and whispered,

            “ **Tsukuyomi”**

**(** Song Insert: Silent Hill Music Box theme)

The man soon found himself strapped to a cross in red and black wasteland. He looked around and saw no one then turned and yelled when he saw the boy in the embrace of a woman. He paled as he saw the woman had lavender eyes that stared at him while her arms were draped around the boy. He began hyperventilating as she detached from him and approached him with a knife, _his_ prized knife that he used to slit her throat. The boy then dispersed in a swarm of snakes and the man heard his voice echo through the world.

            “ **For the next 72 hours, you will be tortured by the one you forced yourself on. Drown in the depths of your sin. Have fun, Asuka-neechan.”**

Asuka slashed at the man’s stomach causing half of his intestines to spill out, then stabbed him though the chest puncturing his lung and finally slit his throat. The man struggled and then lay still, eyes closing. As soon as he closed his eyes, he jolted and found himself free from damage. He started to think it was a dream until he saw a grinning Asuka with a bloody knife approaching him. He screamed as the boy’s voice echoed again.

            “ **71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds remain.”**

On the outside, the boy stared at the man for a few more seconds before the man seized up, foamed at the mouth and died. The boy smirked and stood up before heading upstairs. There was a yell and the sound of feet running and then a whisper:

            “ **Amaterasu”**

Where once stood a lavish mansion surrounded by fruit trees, fields of flowers and hundreds of statues now stands a fifty meter in diameter, six meter high circle of black fire. Screams of the dying echo out like a macabre chorus under a blood red moon and sky as rain began to fall. It was as if the heavens were weeping at the sight of a child with blood on his hands perched on a nearby tree, watching the burning with a dead look in his eyes. As soon as the last screams died out, he extinguished the flames and walked among the wreckage and embers to an untouched portion of the land.

“Manji **Hijutsu: Floral Rebirth.”** He whispered and place his fingers on the raised earth. As his slender fingers touch the ground, flowers began to bloom in a circular array. He felt a tear fall down his face and he whispered,

“They’re gone now, Asuka-neechan. I made them all pay, you can rest now.”

He turned and saw something buried half way in the dust that caught his eye. He went and unearthed it revealing a four sided Oni mask depicting a grinning, scowling, shocked and stoic Oni face. He hesitated before placing it on and began to walk towards the nearest town.

(Time Skip 3 Hours later)

            The boy arrived in a merchant village known as Nasai, exhausted and hungry at around early morning. He came to a checkpoint where a guard stopped him. The guard wore simple white robes and had a katana sheathed at his side and studied the masked boy in front of him curiously. He had changed from the tattered clothes to a black robe, and the porcelain mask was set to ‘stoic’ mode.

            “Where are your parents, child?” the guard finally asked.

            “They died in a bandit attack,” he lied smoothly,” I only managed to get away.”

            “Hmm. So you are an orphan, what is your name?”

            “Dākuuddo no Akuma”. (Akuma of the Dark Woods)

            The guard couldn’t help but shiver at that. Those from the Dark Woods tended to be…eccentric and unpredictable. He nods and lets him into the village. ‘Akuma’ grinned humourlessly behind his mask and took in the village sights. The entire village was composed of wooden and stone buildings with stores scattered everywhere. He was...unimpressed. San’indō, specifically his Village, was immense with sprawling market places, towering buildings created from the very trees that surrounded his village and houses built into the trees. He looked for the tallest building and scoffs before using **Shunshin** to appear on the roof. He landed a bit shakily then turned to take in the village as the sun began to rise behind him. A breeze brushed by him, causing his hair to sway slightly to the left and he turned to see a man standing to a few feet from him. The newcomer wore dark green cargo pants, a black shirt covered by a vest. He had dark brown hair and grey eyes. On his back was a tanto sword with a black sheath. The thing that caught ‘Akuma’s’ eye was the kanji for dragon lord on the left side of his vest and he had to restrain the intense rage that threatened to explode from him. The dragon smiled and said,

            “Hello young one, not many your age would be out at this time of day. I haven’t seen you before; may I know your name?”

            “Isn’t it polite to give your name first?” Akuma said with venom.

            “Of course”, the man laughed softly, “My name is Shin Azumaru, yours?”

            “Dākuuddo no Akuma.”

            “Ah, a visitor from the Dark Woods. You certainly look the part but you are more reserved than most Dark Woodsmen. In fact, you’re a long way from home, hatchling.”

            “I recently lost my parents in a bandit attack; we were on our back home when they ambushed our caravan. My father and mother held them off so I could run…but they did not make it.”

            “I see”, Shin murmured,” Forgive me, I did not mean to bring such painful thoughts back to you. Especially at this youthful hour.”

            “Youthful?”

            Shin grinned and to Akuma’s shock, his teeth seemed to shine as Shin took a pose with his thumb up and declared,

            “INDEED, THIS TIME OF THE DAY IS WHERE OUR YOUTH HOWLS WITH A BLAZING PASSION TO RIVAL THE SUN!”

            Akuma’s mask switched to shock as he took in this sight and nearly face faulted as Shin took a kneeling position in front of him with his eyes shining.

            “Akuma-san, it would be an honor if you would show me the famous youthfulness of a Woodsman.”

            ‘Dear Kami, he acts just like father’, Akuma thought,’ I’m half expecting someone to throw something at him. Still, if I’m going to dress as a Woodsman, I should act the part.’

            H switched his mask to grinning and said in loud voice,

            “VERY WELL, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW A WOODSMAN GREETS THE DAY!”

            “YOSH!”Shin shouted while crying anime tears, “YOUR YOUTHFULNESS SHINES AS BRIGHT AS I IMAGINED!”

            “LET US COMBINE OUR YOUTHFULNESS AND RIVAL THE SUN!”

            “YOSH!”

            The two waited until the sun reached its crowning stage, where half of the sun is seen rising from the horizon, and then Shin yelled;

            “VILLAGE OF NASAI, AWAKE INTO THE SUMMER OF YOUTH!!!”

He then turned to Akuma, who then yelled,

            “CAST OFF THE BINDINGS OF THE WINTERTIME OF SLOTH AND LET YOUR BLOOD BOIL IN THE HEAT OF THE YOUTHFUL SUN!”

            “AKUMA-SAN!” Shin yelled with joy as prideful tears flowed from his face.

            “SHIN-SAN!” Akuma yelled back, though he was sweating in embarrassment.

            “AKUMA-SAN!”

            “SHIN-SAN!”

            “AKUMA-SAN!”

This continued for several minutes as the villagers were either pinching the bridge of their noses in annoyance or looking in horror at the sight of _two_ screaming maniacs. After they finished expressing their youthfulness, Shin departed but told Akuma of an arena at the edge of the village where youthful competitions take place. When he arrived, he saw that it was a fight house and Shin was the current champion. He studied it before thinking,

            ‘This will be a good place to hide out a few years before enacting my plan. I can acquire money and have somewhat of a safe place to live. Shin seems to be likable enough, but he’s a dragon so he’ll bear watching. I suppose this will have to do for the time being as long as no one figures out I’m a Manji, if that happens…’

            He was broken out his thoughts by a loud yell and the sound of a fight near him, then sensed a fist coming towards him.


End file.
